Thursday October 27, 2016
The Oakdale Leader –
Things may seem a little fishy with Oakdale Joint Unified fourth graders these days, as teacher Krista Smith has begun making her migration to the varying school sites. Smith’s migration, however, doesn’t come by way of a fish snack cracker or a classroom pet, the salmon teacher spends two days of lecture time teaching the students about Chinook Salmon. As result of her teachings the students then travel to Knights Ferry to visit the Stanislaus River and learn further about the sea life in their natural habitat.
Four days in November, thanks to Smith and a group of volunteers, are dedicated solely to teaching Oakdale fourth graders and some parents about this local inhabitant.
“The classroom component I teach is one part of an entire program that includes: the OID Field Trip, graphing the weekly Fishbio data on the salmon count through the Fishbio Weir and raising salmon in the classroom from January to March,” Smith said. “This is an entire program extending from October through March and demonstrates the complete lifecycle of this amazing animal.”
During the classroom portion of the instruction, Smith reviews the Life Cycle of Salmon, offering visuals to aid the students’ memory in the growth process of the fish. She also covers the migration of the fish from fresh water to salt water and back to fresh water as they grow older.